The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

He chuckled softly. “Because I actually came in to tell you that Mandy’s here.”

“What?” I cried out, sitting up.

“Relax. The door’s locked.”

“I don’t want to talk to her. Not yet. She thinks I’m staying at a friend’s in Pedlam tonight.”

“You told her that?”

“No. I told our mother that.”

Tray chuckled, sitting up. “Mandy’s not one to narc.”

“Is it awkward in there?” I couldn’t help asking, biting my lip as I met his sardonic gaze.

“Between her, Dev, and Carter?” He chuckled again. “It’s a roll in the fucking hay.”

“Fuck.” I sighed, as Tray got up from the bed and moved into the bathroom. A moment later, he came back out and murmured, “Come on. Otherwise Mandy’s gonna come in here and I don’t want Mandy in my bedroom.”

I laughed, couldn’t help it. But I let him grab my hand and hoist me out of the bed. The guy was strong, holy hell.

When Tray cut down into the basement, I grabbed a Diet Coke out of his fridge before reluctantly wandering down the stairs.

I gritted my teeth, prepared for whatever Mandy was going to throw my way when I entered the room.

But all she said was, sitting on the farthest corner from Devon’s couch, “Your friend Grayley’s called the house, like three times.”

“I figured he would,” I remarked, sitting on a lounger and placing the Diet Coke on the stand beside it.

“You’re avoiding his calls?” she asked in surprise. “Way you guys acted last night, it was as if he was your brother or something.”

I sighed. “Leave it alone, Mandy.”

“Why?” she asked sharply. God. She was pissed and probably not because of me, but she’d chosen me as her whipping lamb.

“Because some shit’s going on that you have no idea about and I don’t want to deal with it right now,” I snapped, running a hand over my face.

“Like what?” she asked, pouting.

Anything I would’ve shot back at her was interrupted when Jasmine and Amber called out, from the top of the stairs, “Hey, hey. We’re coming down.”

I sat back, unable to suppress a grimace as their giggling got louder.

“Oh!” They blinked in surprise, seeing that everyone was already there. “Hey, guys,” Amber murmured, sitting down hesitantly, between Mandy and Devon. Jasmine wavered, not saying anything, as she looked around for a place to sit. She finally chose the floor, in front of Grant.

And they hadn’t been alone. I suppressed another grimace when Sasha popped her head out from the doorway, a Coke in hand.

Sasha called out, sickeningly sweet, “Hey ya’ll.” She perched on the corner of the couch by Bryce’s arm.

Carter let out a laugh, the sound breaking the frozen silence that had taken hold of the room.

I glanced at Tray and saw him watching the game, my phone was beside him and flashing. I must’ve had a dozen calls by now.

“Tray, I didn’t see you at Carter’s last night,” Amber spoke up nervously.

“I was there,” Tray murmured lazily.

“He left early,” Mandy said flatly.